A GREAT white shark that savaged a swimmer at a beach in California is one of the biggest in the world, scientists say.
Steve Bruemmer, 62, lost 30 pints of blood after the ocean giant chomped his stomach, leg and arm in one massive bite.
Steve was hauled 100 yards to shore by a surf instructor and two paddleboarders as blood spurted from his wounds.
Amazingly he is expected to make a good recovery after the horror mauling at Lover's Point Beach in Monterey.
The shark was confirmed as a great white by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife based on a forensic examination of Steve's bite marks.
Experts estimate it is up to 20ft long – around the maximum size that great whites can grow to.
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That would make it a match for Deep Blue, the largest great white ever recorded weighing 2.5 tons and thought to be over 50 years old.
Deep Blue, a gigantic female, has been filmed prowling around Mexican island Guadalupe 550 miles to the south.
And the Monterey monster is likely to be bigger than a two ton, 17ft female found off the coast of Novia Scotia in 2020.
Great whites can live for up to 60 years and never stop growing, although the growth slows in later life.
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Witnesses described the water turning red with blood when Steve was attacked while swimming on June 22.
He was hauled out of the water by hero bystanders while a group of children visiting from Kansas watched on in horror.
Two paddleboarders – police officer Paul Bandy and his nurse wife Aimee Johns – were first to reach Steve as he screamed for help.
Seconds later they were joined by surf instructor Heath Braddock, who had been leading an ocean excursion for a group of kids.
The youngsters were "chest-deep" in the water, forcing the coach to move the class to safety on shore before rescuing Steve.
Heath said: "They got the full immersion, that’s for sure. They saw it all."
The courageous instructor raced back into the ocean with two surfboards and paddled towards the wounded victim.
He said: "He was 300ft out. A lot of tourists cry wolf and cry out ‘shark!’ It’s rarely the case. It’s usually a dolphin.
"But this guy continued to scream frantically. I saw the pool of blood around him so I knew it was real."
Paul and Amy helped drag him onto the bigger of Heath's two surfboards.
The experienced surfer continued: "I pulled on his good arm and they lifted the other arm that had been bitten.
"His leg wound was the most pronounced – his bone was fully showing. Most of the damage was on his stomach the front side."
Heath then paddled "as hard as I could" to get back to the beach while Steve clung on for his life.
The shark bite was unlucky. But after that, I have just had so much good luck.
The valiant trio then tore off the 62-year-old's wetsuit and wrapped tourniquets on his gaping wounds to stem the bleeding.
Steve was rushed to Natividad Medical Center with bites to his leg, stomach and arms as well as a broken femur.
Surgeons spent two hours in theatre after Steve lost "a tremendous amount of blood". He needed a total of 30 pints.
He is still recovering from hospital but said in a statement earlier how fortunate he was to be saved.
Steve said: "The shark bite was unlucky. But after that, I have just had so much good luck.
"The day was so calm and warm, and the beach was crowded. There were no waves, and there was no chop.
"So people could hear me yelling 'Help!' from a great distance."
Pacific Grove Police Chief Cathy Madalone said: "We want to express our gratitude and appreciation to the Good Samaritans that took immediate action and personal risk to assist the swimmer."
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Beaches were immediately closed by officials following the terrifying attack, while shark warning signs were also shared.
Reports said the Monterey Fire Department used a drone to search for the shark but couldn't find it.
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